Toshiyori#Extraordinary process

There are many terms used to define a trainer in the world of professional sumo. Alongside the official term of {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}|年寄}}, a sumo coach is also referred by the terms of {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|oyakata}}|親方}} and {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|shishō}}|師匠}}.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=7}}

Prior to its appearance in the sumo world during the 17th century, the term {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} was used primarily in the Edo period and before to refer to central and provincial government administrators as well as community leaders, with a meaning of "senior citizen".{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=63}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=年寄 |encyclopedia=Nippon Encyclopedia (Nipponica) |publisher=Shogakukan |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B9%B4%E5%AF%84-105198 |language=ja |accessdate=29 December 2024 |via=Kotobank}} For its part, the term {{Transliteration|ja|oyakata}} is a suffix used in the honorific system as an honorific attached to proper nouns.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=189}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=親方 |encyclopedia=Obunsha World History Encyclopedia |edition=3 |publisher=Obunsha |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%A6%AA%E6%96%B9-454996 |language=ja |accessdate=29 December 2024 |via=Kotobank}} Initially the term referred to a person with the status of surrogate parent or big brother, and used to refer to an apprentice master.

The term {{Transliteration|ja|shishō}}, or stablemaster, refers specifically to a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} who owns and runs a {{Transliteration|ja|heya}}, or sumo stable.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=110}}{{cite thesis |last=Muto |first=Yasuaki |date=September 2010 |title=年寄名跡の承継 |url=https://waseda-sport.jp/paper/1016/1016.pdf |trans-title=A study of succession of elder member name in Grand Sumo |work=Faculty of Sports Science |degree=masters |language=ja |location=Shinjuku |publisher=Waseda University |access-date=9 January 2025}} At the top of the {{Transliteration|ja|heya}} social pyramid, he takes on a paternal role for all under him.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=82}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=171}} Of all the coaches potentially present in the stable, he alone is the owner and therefore the highest authority in communal life.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=83}}

File:Kokugikan-postcard-1909.jpg in 1909 surrounded by various {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}]]

The function of sumo elder was born with the organization of the first tournaments authorized by the municipal administrations of major Japanese cities. Although sumo as a sport goes back several centuries, its professionalization dates back to the beginning of the Edo period. During this period, the peace established by the Tokugawa shogunate led to the vagrancy for many samurai who had lost their social standing with their previous masters, who had been deposed or killed so that the shogunate could assert itself.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=57}}{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=16}} Masterless samurai, called {{Transliteration|ja|rōnin}}, had no choice but to put their martial art skills to good use in street sumo tournaments, called {{Nihongo|tsuji-zumō|辻相撲|tsuji-sumo|{{lit|street-corner wrestling}}}}, for the entertainment of passers-by.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=58}} Eventually, the mix of disgraced {{Transliteration|ja|rōnins}} with the commoners who took part in the contests of strength of the street tournaments created many conflicts over betting money.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=14}}{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=59}} Tense brawls, even deaths, sometimes occurred.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=59}} During the Keian era, public order became so disturbed that, in 1648, the Edo authorities issued an edict banning street sumo and matches organized to raise funds during festivities.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=60}} In 1684 (Jōkyō era), a sumo {{Transliteration|ja|rōnin}} named Ikazuchi Gondaiyū obtained permission to lift the sumo ban edicted by the Edo authorities.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|pp=62-63}} Because he allowed the return of matches by proposing a new etiquette associated with the conduct of fights, Ikazuchi was recognized as a key interlocutor by the authorities, which earned him a tournament organizer's license referring to him as a "{{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}", one of the first mentions of the term in sumo.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=63}} Later, the term was definitively adopted by his successors in the organization of tournaments where it came to be used specifically to refer to the masters at the head of groups of wrestlers who took part in charity tournaments in support of sanctuaries, and who were responsible for enforcing discipline during festivities and avoiding fights.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|pp=63-64}} To organize the tournaments, the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} went under their former ring names on delegations to submit petitions to the shogunate officers and secure authorization to hold the tournaments.{{sfn|West|1997|p=179}} In parallel with the emergence of {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} in the Edo-based sumo association, the associations in the cities of Osaka and Kyoto were organized around elders known as {{Nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|totori}} or {{Transliteration|ja|tōdori}}|{{lang|ja|頭取}}}}.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=相撲年寄 |encyclopedia=The World Encyclopaedia |publisher=Heibonsha |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%9B%B8%E6%92%B2%E5%B9%B4%E5%AF%84-1348325|language=ja |accessdate=7 December 2023 |via=Kotobank encyclopedia}}{{cite web|author=Naoki Iida|title=第32回 特集展示 大阪相撲の歴史|url=https://www.osakamushis.jp/news/2004/osaka_sumo.html|publisher=Osaka Museum of History|date=9 March 2005|access-date=26 December 2024|language=ja}}

During the Genroku period, the various sumo groups were no longer scattered across the country, but rather concentrated in the major cities of Edo, Osaka and Kyoto.{{cite encyclopedia |title=相撲部屋 |last=Ikeda |first=Masao |encyclopedia=The Revised New Edition of the World Encyclopaedia |publisher=Heibonsha |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%9B%B8%E6%92%B2%E9%83%A8%E5%B1%8B-85075 |date=1998 |isbn=4582040012 |language=ja |accessdate=23 February 2024 |via=Kotobank}} These groups were self-organised under the leadership of elders, who welcomed the wrestlers into their homes, which took the name of {{Transliteration|ja|heya}} (meaning "fraternity house") in reference to the rooms in which these elders met to organise matches during tournaments. In 1719, the Edo municipal authorities issued an edict prohibiting all sumo groups that had not become professionalized from taking part in charity tournaments.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} The direct consequence of this edict was the disappearance of the elders who came directly from the ranks of the {{Transliteration|ja|rōnins}}, and only the elders who were wrestlers who had retired from the ring remained.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} The organization based on Edo municipality edicts was gradually implemented in the other major sumo associations based in Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya during the eighteenth century.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} With the reform of the charity tournaments, the number of elders grew significantly, tripling in Edo between 1720 and 1780.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} During the Hōreki era, masters began to inherit and assume the names of their predecessors, each share being attached to the ring name of the wrestler who had established himself as a trainer and passed on his license to one of his apprentices.{{sfn|West|1997|p=180}} The practice of becoming an elder until death or final retirement also became widespread around this time.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} From the 1750s onwards, the practice of welcoming novice wrestlers into the elders' homes became more widespread, these houses becoming the first examples of stables.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}}

The practice of allowing former wrestlers to coach new aspirants was eventually capped in 1927, when the sumo associations based in Osaka and Tokyo merged. At that time it was decided that the quota of Tokyo (and its eighty-eight elders) and Osaka (seventeen elders) would form the maximum number of names that could be inherited into the newly proclaimed All Japan Sumo Association.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=143}} At the beginning of the twentieth century, the conditions for inheriting one's master's name generally became stricter. During the Edo period, any wrestler or referee of any rank could inherit the name of his master, under whose protection he had placed himself, in order to perpetuate his legacy.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}} However, it was decided in 1920 that only wrestlers and referees who had obtained the status of {{Transliteration|ja|sekitori}} would be eligible for the privilege of inheriting the names.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}} In 1951, some historical shares (including the name Negishi) were discontinued.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}} In 1958, referees definitively lost their right to inherit a name share.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}}

After the Meiji Restoration, access to {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} status was subject to a number of reforms. During the Edo period, when the transmission of the status became established, virtually any wrestler or referee could inherit a share without paying any money, but simply taking responsibility for the livehood of his master and his wife.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}} After World War II, the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} title could be inherited for a few bags of rice, as the period was marked by food shortages.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=56}} During the 1970s, the question of opening up the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} title, and ultimately the creation of stables, to foreign wrestlers arose for the Japan Sumo Association, the latter declaring firstly that sumo being Japan's national sport, it was inconceivable that a foreigner could participate as a trainer.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=128}} In 1976, an internal rule defined that only Japanese nationals could become elders, with the unofficial aim of preventing foreigners from having a lasting influence on the sport by occupying decision-making positions within the association.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=125}} The statement was subsequently severely criticized in the press.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|pp=128-129}} There have also been calls for foreign wrestlers with notable careers to benefit from an exceptional regime and inherit {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} status.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=125}} This led the association to correct its position in this regard, with the JSA subsequently declaring that the two rising stars of foreign origin Takamiyama and Kaneshiro would indeed be eligible to become coaches within the association after their retirements.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=129}} Takamiyama was the first to retire in 1984, becoming a coach under the name Azumazeki and founding Azumazeki stable in 1986, the first foreign-born sumo wrestler to do both.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=129}}{{sfn|West|1997|pp=195-196}} Gradually, the Sumo Association welcomed more and more wrestlers of foreign origin as {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}. In 2014, Kotoōshū became the first {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} of European origin under the name Naruto.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNSSXKE0867_W4A110C1000000/|title=琴欧洲が日本国籍を取得　欧州出身力士では初|language=ja|date=16 January 2014|work=The Nikkei|access-date=18 January 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/1858979.html|title=元関脇高見山が１号／日本国籍取得した外国出身力士|language=ja|date=21 July 2017|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=18 January 2025}} In 2017, Kyokutenhō, who had obtained Japanese nationality in 2005, retired and became the first Mongolian-born wrestler to become {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}, taking the name Tomozuna.{{cite web|title=元旭天鵬、モンゴル出身で初の師匠に　友綱部屋継承へ|url=http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK344FXGK34UTQP01K.html|work=The Asahi Shimbun|date=4 March 2017|access-date=18 January 2025|archive-date=6 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306131846/http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK344FXGK34UTQP01K.html|url-status=dead}}

Between 1996 and 1998, speculation over share inheritance fees became so intense that Sakaigawa (former Sadanoyama), then chairman of the Sumo Association, proposed a reform of the system, introducing the idea of an outright ban on buying and selling shares and placing unused shares under the association's management.{{cite web|url=https://www.jiji.com/jc/v4?id=spreq-sadanoyama201704270001|title=突っ張りも協会改革も一本気　元横綱佐田の山の市川晋松さん【スポーツ鎮魂歌】|language=ja|date=5 December 2023|work=Jiji press|access-date=19 January 2025}} Sakaigawa faced strong opposition from the board of directors, eventually being forced not only to withdraw his reform proposal but also to resign as chairman, the balance of the board shifting from Heya (sumo)#Dewanoumi ichimon to Heya (sumo)#Tokitsukaze ichimon as a result, since an electoral alliance had been formed to oppose the reform in the director elections of the time.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkan-gendai.com/articles/view/sports/156746|title=<第17回>北の湖理事長は親方株の売買を合法化した|language=ja|date=29 January 2015|work=Nikkan Gendai|access-date=19 January 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkan-gendai.com/articles/view/sports/187056|title=佐ノ山親方「九重」継承 年寄株はどうやって手に入れた？|language=ja|date=17 October 2016|work=Nikkan Gendai|access-date=19 January 2025}}

In January 2014, the association shifted to a {{Interlanguage link|Public Interest Incorporated Foundation|ja|3=公益法人|lt=Public Interest Incorporated Foundation}} effectively implementing the change from March to coincide with new board of directors elections after difficult negotiations over the status of {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2013/09/14/kiji/K20130914006616510.html|title=相撲協会が公益法人申請 理事長「第一歩」来年のスタート目指す|language=ja|date=14 September 2013|work=Sports Nippon|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{cite web|title=新相撲協会スタート 北の湖理事長「公益法人の責務果たす」|url=http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/01/30/kiji/K20140130007487790.html|work=Sports Nippon|date=30 January 2014|access-date=16 May 2024|archive-date=18 February 2014|archive-url=https://web-archive-org.translate.goog/web/20140218012925/http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/01/30/kiji/K20140130007487790.html?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=fr&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=sc|url-status=dead}} The articles of association were amended because it was not possible to obtain public foundation status while continuing to authorize what is technically a payment for the right to continue working until retirement age on an unclear market, akin to a black market. Although the system of shares was maintained, it undergone a change of management, becoming a joint share management under the supervision of the Sumo Association and generalizing the theoretical prohibition on the purchase of shares.{{cite web|title=相撲協会:親方の座がら空き　埋まらない１１名跡|url=http://mainichi.jp/sports/news/20131214k0000m050148000c.html|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=14 December 2013|access-date=10 January 2025|archive-date=23 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123225857/http://mainichi.jp/sports/news/20131214k0000m050148000c.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Musashigawa-oyakata address to the public.jpg) addresses the public at the beginning of the last day of the 2008 September tournament.]]

The Japan Sumo Association relations between its members are primarily shaped by rules and norms related to the ownership and transfer of "elder shares" held by the association coaches.{{sfn|West|1997|p=165}} These shares are known by several names, and can also be referred to as {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori kabu}}, or elder stock.{{cite web|title=Controversial report could deny Hakuho deserved elder stock|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2021/04/21/sumo/hakuho-elder-name-report/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=21 April 2021|access-date=16 January 2025|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424170320/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2021/04/21/sumo/hakuho-elder-name-report/|url-status=live}} However, all these terms refer to the same situation. To become a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}, a retired wrestler must first acquire a share, called {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|kabu}}|株}}, within the Japan Sumo Association.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}}{{cite web|author=Kitade Koichi |url=https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/Z8WRRJ9K96/blog/bl/pp5q5BdEZp/bp/plPj4RAewq/ |title=「力士をやめたらどうなるの？」 |language=ja |website=NHK |date=29 March 2024 |accessdate=14 November 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://spaia.jp/column/sumo/1515|title=知っておきたい！大相撲の年寄株についてわかりやすく解説！|date=11 August 2016|work=Spaia Sports|access-date=27 December 2023|language=ja}} In professional sumo, a share has the characteristics of an asset, business rights and practice license. Each {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}} is named after a {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|myōseki}}|名跡}}, a generational family name.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=135}} Each wrestler inheriting a share has a diploma mentioning the name he has inherited.{{sfn|West|1997|p=180}} Although the system dates back to the Edo period, its organization remains opaque.{{cite encyclopedia |first=Atsuo |last=Negishi|title=年寄名跡|encyclopedia={{ill|Chiezō encyclopedia|ja|知恵蔵}}|publisher=The Asahi Shimbun|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%B9%B4%E5%AF%84%E5%90%8D%E8%B7%A1-187968|language=ja|date=2007|accessdate=13 January 2025 |via=Kotobank}}

Only wrestlers who have reached the ranks of {{Transliteration|ja|san'yaku}} (meaning {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}}, {{Transliteration|ja|ōzeki}}, {{Transliteration|ja|sekiwake}} and {{Transliteration|ja|komusubi}}) and have held it for at least one tournament are directly entitled to apply to remain as an executive within the association. Wrestlers who have attained the rank of {{Transliteration|ja|maegashira}} must have held their status for twenty tournaments, while {{Transliteration|ja|jūryō}} wrestlers must have held theirs for thirty tournaments in the top two divisions. However, these conditions of access to {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} status are much stricter than they were in the 1990s. During those years, the conditions were to have competed in one {{Transliteration|ja|makuuchi}} tournament or twenty {{Transliteration|ja|jūryō}} tournaments.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}} Wrestlers who had competed professionally for a total of twenty-five tournaments in any division were also eligible for a share inheritance.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}} In order to perpetuate the traditions of a particular stable, in the past there was a special rule allowing an apprentice to inherit his stablemaster's share (and thus take over his stable) provided he had participated in at least one tournament in the {{Transliteration|ja|jūryō}} division.{{sfn|West|1997|p=180}}

{{Transliteration|ja|Yokozuna}} and {{Transliteration|ja|ōzeki}} receive preferential treatment and can remain in the association without acquiring elder status for five years ({{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}}) and three years ({{Transliteration|ja|ōzeki}}).{{cite web|author=Kitade Koichi |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/story/16748/ |title=特集 - 大相撲の力士をやめたらどうなるの？ |language=ja |website=NHK |date=6 July 2021 |accessdate=16 December 2023}} The wrestler then becomes a coach in the association, in the same way as any other elder, under his ring name and for a fixed period, enabling him to have more time to obtain an authentic share that will allow him to stay in the Sumo Association until the mandatory retirement age.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}}

In September 2021, upon the retirement of former {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} Hakuhō, the Sumo Association unusually required him to sign a pledge to uphold "the traditional culture and spirit of sumo", so that he could become a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} under the name Magaki. On his retirement, some elders suggested that conditions be added to the inheritance of the name, such as not operating a stable for a period of ten years, but these were not included in the final pledge.{{cite web|url=https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/338870|title=白鵬の年寄名跡襲名は『条件付き承認』へ 資格審査委員会で「10年、部屋を持たせない」などの意見も|date=30 September 2021|work=Chunichi Sports|language=ja|access-date=18 January 2025}}

Since it is not uncommon for several wrestlers to come from the same family, it is commonly accepted that a retiring wrestler can avoid the minimum tournament requirements if he wishes to inherit a share already owned by a family member.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}} In addition, agreements on the transfer of shares remaining within the same family are not traditionally affected by money exchanges. The inheritance of certain shares within a family extends to in-laws.

When an elder dies, the management of his share may fall to his family, and more generally to his widow. This type of situation is permitted because, although the name associated with a share can only be used by a former wrestler for activity within the Sumo Associaiton, the diploma associated with it can technically and legally be possessed by a foreign person, putting the Sumo Association in the position of being unable to put pressure on the said outsiders to release the possessed diploma. The situation of a family-run share was illustrated when the former Izutsu (the former Sakahoko) died in 2019, and his share was rented by his family to the former Toyonoshima. Toyonoshima retired from the sport for good, however, when it emerged that the Izutsu share was to be inherited by Shimanoumi, the latter having married Sakahoko's daughter in 2022.

The inheritance of a share is unique in that the Sumo Association or its board of directors has no theoretical means of influencing the appointment of a successor to a share. Inheritance is based exclusively on a deal between an applicant and his predecessor. Deals are generally no more than oral agreements.{{cite web|title=Stablemaster payout overturned|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2004/01/29/national/stablemaster-payout-overturned/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=18 December 2024|access-date=29 January 2004|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107170800/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2004/01/29/national/stablemaster-payout-overturned/#.XDOHhFN_pqY|url-status=live}} The ownership of a share establishes its owner as a manager of the Sumo Association, which has established several rules on the inheritance of shares.{{sfn|West|1997|pp=180-181}} A share can be exchanged, making it possible for an elder to own several shares during his coaching career. Elders frequently trade shares because they can be linked to particular stables, and some trades are even made to take over from a stablemaster at the head of a particular stable.{{sfn|West|1997|p=180}} However, shares may not be exchanged or loaned to anyone outside the association or who does not meet the inheritance conditions.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}} Although the Sumo Association does not in theory have the power to approve or refuse the transfer of elder shares from the moment the inheritance criteria are met, a retiring wrestler inheriting a {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}} must first submit a formal request to the association, called a {{Nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori shūmei keishō todoke}}|年寄襲名継承届}}.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}} Japanese citizenship is also a prerequisite, and wrestlers of foreign origin must renounce their citizenship and become Japanese citizens before they can apply to become {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00769/|title=Becoming Japanese: Hakuhō and Sumō’s Identity Crisis|date=12 January 2022|publisher=Nippon Communications Foundation|website=Nippon.com|language=ja|access-date=15 January 2025}} In April 2021, a panel of experts published a report commissioned by the association on the balance between the traditional values of sport and the organization, and the opportunities for extending the influence of sport. The report stated that obtaining Japanese nationality was necessary because {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} must have "an intimate understanding of the distinct aspects of Japanese culture and customs".

Although the association allows great freedom in the inheritance of shares, it can also exert pressure behind the scenes to disqualify the inheritance for wrestlers involved in scandals, which was notably the case for former {{Transliteration|ja|komusubi}} Itai, during the match-fixing scandal, who was denied the inheritance of the Ōnaruto share and ultimately the inheritance of the associated stable, the latter closing upon the retirement of former {{Transliteration|ja|sekiwake}} Kōtetsuyama.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}} Shares are theoretically managed within the same {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}} (groups of stables), with larger clans offering more shares for their wrestlers to inherit when they retire. Since {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}} also serve as political factions within the Sumo Association, share owners belonging to one clan are relatively reluctant to cede a share to a member of another clan.{{Cite web |first=Tarō|last=Bandō|url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/ca0318cdb4d1f1a71c68d26965060cdc3b467ff7|title=照ノ富士が親方になれないかもしれないという近未来の「年寄株不足」を現役力士の実名を挙げて考察|date=10 July 2023|publisher=Mainichi Shimbun|access-date=11 January 2025|archive-date=12 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212050400/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/ca0318cdb4d1f1a71c68d26965060cdc3b467ff7|url-status=live|language=ja|via=Yahoo! Sports}} Stable closures and share loans are an opportunity to see names change clan. When, in 2010, Ajigawa (the former Kōbō) voted against the interests of his clan (Heya (sumo)#Tatsunami ichimon) to support the election of Takanohana, the owner of his share (Aminishiki, then still active) asked him to return the name, so that the Ajigawa share would not be managed in the Heya (sumo)#Historical ichimon.{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/special/08020/NGY201007080007.html|title=年寄株、処分で玉突き　安治川親方、二子山襲名へ|date=8 July 2010|work=The Asahi Shimbun|language=ja|access-date=18 January 2025}} Also, at the time of former {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} Kakuryū's retirement, his interest in the Otowayama share was not seen as a sound investment, as the share was managed within the Nishonoseki {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}} and Kakuryū had wrestled within the Tokitsukaze {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}}. Kakuryū did, however, manage to inherit the share and open the eponymous stable, implying that his inheritance of the Otowayama name was definitive and not simply rented.{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202312270000748.html|title=鶴竜親方が年寄「音羽山」襲名 力士２人、床山１人で「音羽山部屋」創設もこの日付で承認される|date=27 December 2023|publisher=Nikkan Sports|access-date=11 January 2025|language=ja}} Also, when the former Sadanofuji (Dewanoumi {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}}) retired, he rented the Nakamura name to its owner, Yoshikaze (Nishonoseki {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}}). It is also forbidden to pass on shares to persons outside the association.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}}

In the event of a dispute over the terms of inheritance of a share between two masters, the Sumo Association may request the resignation of a master on the grounds that possession of the share has not been resolved as a result of the dispute, and that the supposed heir does not actually possess the rights to his {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}}, with associated diploma.{{cite web|title=春日山親方に辞任勧告 受諾の方向、力士は追手風部屋に移籍へ|url=http://www.sankei.com/sports/news/161012/spo1610120029-n1.html|work=Sankei Shimbun|date=12 October 2016|access-date=15 January 2025|archive-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305002119/http://www.sankei.com/sports/news/161012/spo1610120029-n1.html|url-status=dead}} This was notably the case during the inheritance dispute over the Kasugayama name between the former Kasugafuji and his heir Hamanishiki, which led to the closure of Kasugayama stable and the incorporation of its wrestlers into the Heya (sumo)#Isegahama ichimon.

All former wrestlers who have secured possession of a {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}} must, however, relinquish it when they reach the age of 65, which marks the compulsory retirement age within the Sumo Association.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=Sumo 101: Retired stablemasters|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/03/23/sumo/sumo-101-retired-stablemasters/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=23 March 2019|access-date=18 January 2025|archive-date=23 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323225842/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/03/23/sumo/sumo-101-retired-stablemasters/|url-status=live}}

Since shares are difficult to obtain, an active wrestler who matches the inheritance criteria and who has already secured possession of a share can rent it to a retired wrestler in a process known as {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|kari-kabu}}|借株}}.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}} This system enables the tenant of the share to work as a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}, while also having more time to obtain a share of his own. For the annuitant, this system ensures an inflow of cash without encroaching on the use of his share, which he retains in full ownership.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}} Since an elder is allowed to own several {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}}, some can afford to rent a {{Transliteration|ja|kabu}} while awaiting the retirement of their designated successor. This was notably the case for former {{Transliteration|ja|ōzeki}} Kirishima Kazuhiro, who rented the Shikoroyama share from his master, the former Izutsu (former {{Transliteration|ja|sekiwake}} Tsurugamine), after his retirement, when the latter had already ceded his Izutsu share to his son (Sakahoko) and was waiting to cede the Shikoroyama name to his second son (Terao).{{sfn|West|1997|p=188}} The game of inheritance through share loans has often been compared to a game of musical chairs. Most of the time such arrangements leave a bittersweet feeling, as the tenants of the shares have to keep looking to buy a perennial share or have to leave the Sumo Association.{{sfn|West|1997|p=188}} Although it's not uncommon for an elder to have to change names several times during his coaching career in order to stay within the Sumo Association, some, like the former Wakajishi, were known for their impressive luck in always finding a name to borrow, Wakajishi managing to borrow no less than eleven different names between 1983 and 1996. When the a Sumo Association changed its articles of association to those of a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the lending and borrowing of shares was theoretically prohibited.{{cite web|url=https://www.daily.co.jp/sumo/2013/01/10/0005659434.shtml|title=新法人では年寄名跡の「借株」禁止へ|language=ja|date=10 January 2013|publisher=Daily Sports|access-date=18 January 2025}}

The value of elder shares lies in the fact that many wrestlers have dedicated their lives to the sport, some turning professional before their twenties.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=56}} When they retire, most wrestlers fall back into anonymity, in a society that offers little in the way of cover for former wrestlers, most of whom are injured. Elder shares therefore represent the last hope of remaining in the sporting world, with the assurance of a salary and the support of their peers.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=56}} The limited number of shares, their unequal distribution between clans and the inability of some younger generations of wrestlers to find coaching positions were cited as fears that the sport was suffering from atrophy.{{cite web|url=https://www.zakzak.co.jp/article/20221130-L2OG4XHPPFM7HGPDB4THTTYDNA/|title=豊山が引退、千代大龍に続き実力者が親方として残らず　相撲界衰退に拍車かける年寄制度…指導者になるのに１億円以上が必要な異常さ|date=30 November 2022|work={{Interlanguage link|Yūkan Fuji|ja|3=夕刊フジ|lt=Yūkan Fuji}}|language=ja|access-date=18 January 2025}} Lack of share is also cited by wrestlers as one of the reasons why they push themselves beyond their own limits and continue their active wrestling careers beyond reason in the hope that a share will become available.{{cite web|url=http://www.asahi.com/special/08020/NGY201007190060.html|title=やっと空いた年寄名跡―海鵬、角界に残った 賭博問題|date=19 July 2010|work=The Asahi Shimbun|language=ja|access-date=18 January 2025}}

The number of shares has been fixed, in particular to avoid the proliferation of unnecessary titles. The transfer of a share to a new owner is not automatic, and prospective buyers must wait until an elder has left the association, usually because he has reached the maximum age for membership of the association (set at 65 years old), to obtain his share.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}} In the event of the death of an elder, a purchaser can also obtain the share through the deceased's family.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}} In the latter case, the new buyer is traditionally expected to provide financially for the family of the deceased, although transfers are often simply settled with a sum of money.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}}

It can take several years for a share to become available for purchase, during which time many wrestlers retire without being able to continue as coaches in the Sumo Association.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}} Acquiring a share is extremely difficult, as the elders' privileged status within the association, with a guaranteed position and salary, develops a strong demand among retired wrestlers, which keeps the monetary value of a share very high.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=144}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}} Purchase prices are never disclosed. The estimated value of a share was often given at around millions of yen, at the very least, being traded in the 1990s at around ¥200 million.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}}{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=43}} Under the new Sumo Association statutes, share purchase prices are still said to be negotiated in millions of yen.{{cite web|url=https://victorysportsnews.com/articles/7327|title=横綱は引退で数億円の収入！？謎に包まれている退職金と引退相撲興行|date=5 February 2019|website=victorysportsnews.com|language=ja|access-date=18 January 2025}} Price estimates are made possible, despite the relative secrecy of inheritance negotiations, by court cases opposing the masters over promised and paid inheritance fees (which was the case with the inheritance of the Tatsunami share between Haguroyama and Asahiyutaka), and also by tax returns that highlight the sums received for the inheritance of shares (which was the case when Wakanohana I sell the Futagoyama share to his brother Takanohana Kenshi and had to explain to the Tokyo tax office a failure to declare 300 million yen). After the association became a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, the sale of shares was theoretically prohibited, under threats of disciplinary action up to and including expulsion. Under the new statutes, all names are theoretically managed by the Sumo Association itself, with the elders retaining the right to recommend successors. Although the payment of sums of money to guarantee an inheritance has been a subject of debate, the association has agreed to allow the payment of a (seemingly optional) consultancy fee. If such fees were paid, an annual report would be required and validated by the association. Finally, the rented-share system was theoretically abolished.{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/sumo/news/f-sp-tp3-20130131-1079211.html|title=年寄名跡の新規定を承認|date=31 January 2013|publisher=Nikkan Sports|access-date=11 January 2025|language=ja}} Although a period of three years was decided for the implementation of the new rules, the press reported that the Sumo Association had, at best, adopted a laissez-faire attitude and, at worst, had carried out a façade reform, because the consultation fees paid to a former shareholder seem to make no difference to the inheritance fees paid under the old statutes, in effect maintaining the old purchase system. The annual survey on share purchasing was also seen as an excuse, as no rigorous criteria had been set out at the time of the change in status. However, one of the effects of the change in status, however, was a collapse in the value of shares after a period of intense speculation. At the time of the change of status, 10% of shares were vacant due to the retirement of the oldest elders and the uncertainty that investment would continue under the new status. Unusually, there are also situations where an inheritance takes place without the exchange of money, as was the case when the former Ishiura inherited the Magaki share from the former Chikubayama.

The purchase of elder shares is negotiated by spending accumulated bonuses and salaries and by the participation of support groups (called {{Transliteration|ja|koenkai}}).{{sfn|West|1997|p=186}} Retired wrestlers can't call on banks and take out loans, as the Sumo Association prohibits the use of shares as collateral for debts.{{sfn|West|1997|p=186}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=193}} Only high-ranking wrestlers can have earned enough during their active career to buy shares on their own, and only popular wrestlers can count on the support of {{Transliteration|ja|koenkai}}.{{sfn|West|1997|pp=186-187}} Although the elder share market creates a strong monetary value attached to share ownership, the Sumo Association does not recognize a specific monetary value for elder shares.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}} Due to speculation, it is generally unprofitable to invest in an elder share, as the salary associated with the status never makes up for the amount spent to obtain the title when the wrestler retired.{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=56}} A large number of wrestlers eligible for a share inheritance are unable to remain in the sport as coaches, precisely because they are in high demand and therefore rare and expensive.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}}

An exception to the normal acquisition is made for the most successful {{Transliteration|ja|rikishi}}, with era-defining {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} being offered a "single generation" or "lifetime" elder share, called {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|ichidai toshiyori kabu}}|一代年寄株}}.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}}{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=89}} This process allows a wrestler to stay as an elder without having to use a traditional share in the association, and enter his retirement duties with his ring name.{{sfn|West|1997|p=181}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}}{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|pp=89-90}} Only wrestlers with extraordinary careers were eligible for this privilege.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}} These elder shares are called "single generation" because they cease to exist after their owners retire, making it impossible for other retired wrestlers to inherit them.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=134}}{{sfn|West|1997|p=182}}

This single generation share has been offered to three former wrestlers : Taihō, Kitanoumi and Takanohana.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}}{{cite web|title=Injured Takanohana retires from sumo|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ss20030121a2.html|work=The Japan Times|date=21 January 2003|access-date=30 March 2024|archive-date=14 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914160620/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ss20030121a2.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP4M5V91P4MUTQP00J.html|title=白鵬が目安クリアの一代年寄、第三者委が問題視|work=The Asahi Shimbun|date=19 April 2021|access-date=22 August 2024|language=ja}} A fourth, Chiyonofuji, was offered this status but preferred a normal share and became known as Kokonoe.{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQCT35H3QCRUTIL005.html|title=一代年寄の栄誉、辞退した千代の富士 北の富士さんが明かす舞台裏|work=The Asahi Shimbun|date=26 November 2022|url-access=subscription|access-date=21 August 2024|language=ja}} Since all the holders were {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} who had completed more than twenty {{Transliteration|ja|yūshō}} (championship victories), this prerequisite became a traditional milestone for obtaining the single generation share.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}}{{Cite web |url=https://hochi.news/articles/20181001-OHT1T50268.html?page=1|title=貴乃花親方の退職で一代年寄が不在に|date=2 October 2018|publisher=Sports Hochi|access-date=29 December 2024|language=ja}}

This system of obtaining {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} status is the only way to sustainably extend the maximum number of elders within the association. During the 1990s, 107 elders coexisted, with the 105 classic shares and Taihō and Kitanoumi, who had both earned the right to become elders under their ring names.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}}

In October 2021, {{Transliteration|ja|Yokozuna}} Hakuhō, the Emperor's Cup number record holder, retired and it was expected that he would earn the right to inherit a Hakuhō share in view of his sporting exploits. Hakuhō was however denied the {{Transliteration|ja|ichidai toshiyori kabu}} and Masayuki Yamauchi (a Yokozuna Deliberation Council member) declared to a press conference that "no such system exists" under the new {{Interlanguage link|Public Interest Incorporated Foundation|ja|3=公益法人|lt=Public Interest Incorporated Foundation}} statutes of the association, implying that the system would no longer be used.{{cite web|author=Yoshiaki Shichino|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/10/a9e7303e4a8c-focus-sumo-fights-hard-to-muzzle-era-defining-former-yokozuna-hakuho.html|title=FOCUS: Sumo fights hard to muzzle era-defining former yokozuna Hakuhō|date=3 October 2021|work=Kyodo News|access-date=6 September 2022}} Following the announcement, many critics shared the indignation of not allowing the greatest champion in the history of professional sumo to benefit from this honor, notably accusing the advisory and expert bodies of being more conservative than the personalities from the sport themselves, or of being obsessed by the image of a purely Japanese sumo, devoid of foreign influence. In particular, several informal comments made to the press referred to the concern of certain Sumo Association executives about Hakuhō's attitude, resurrecting fears of once again having to deal with internal tumult like that caused by Takanohana Kōji, who had enjoyed the honors of the {{Transliteration|ja|ichidai toshiyori kabu}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASP5M7J10P5MUTQP01R.html|title=白鵬に立ちはだかる「一代年寄」廃止論 落としどころは|work=The Asahi Shimbun|date=20 May 2021|access-date=18 January 2025|language=ja}}

There are 105 names used to refer to elders within the Sumo Association, all dating back to the early eighteenth century and before.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=112}} The current number of shares was defined at the time of the merger between the Tokyo and Osaka sumo associations in 1927.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=143}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=95}} At the time, the Osaka association was composed of 17 elders while the Tokyo association was headed by 88 elders.{{sfn|West|1997|p=180}}{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=143}} Since the merger, the official elder shares are:{{cite web | title=List of elder stocks by occupation and attachment to sumo stables and clans | publisher=Sumo Reference | url=https://sumodb.sumogames.de/Kabu.aspx | access-date=1 April 2024}}

Before the establishment of a fixed number of elder shares, the various sumo associations had lineages of elders whose legacy of names has now disappeared. Others, such as the names of the two {{Transliteration|ja|tate-gyōji}}, or those of wrestlers who became elder under the lifetime share system, have been discontinued and can no longer be used as elder shares.

{{See also|Corporate title}}

The {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} are not all equal within the Japan Sumo Association. Historically, the beginnings of a hierarchical organization developed around the 1780s, when the highly profitable charity tournaments were organized. During this period, the main tournament organizer and his assistant emerged as the two most important elders of the Edo-based sumo association.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=72}} Nowadays, positions of influence are shared out in elections held at the end of two-year terms of office.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=Sumo 101: JSA chairman|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/07/21/sumo/sumo-101-jsa-chairman/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=21 July 2019|access-date=3 May 2024|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722091558/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2019/07/21/sumo/sumo-101-jsa-chairman/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20240126-Y763MHTTGZPCPJSEWWVVZHVLJ4/|title=役員改選は３期連続無投票　日本相撲協会|date=26 January 2024|work=The Sankei Shimbun|access-date=24 August 2024|language=ja}}

Much like other staff members of the JSA (such as referees and ushers), elders are also subject to a rank structure; only the lowest-ranking members are strictly known as {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}. The current ranks are as follows:{{cite web |title=職務分掌 - 理事長および理事 |url=https://www.sumo.or.jp/IrohaKyokai/rijikai/|work=Japan Sumo Association|language=ja |access-date=28 March 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/Z8WRRJ9K96/blog/bl/pp5q5BdEZp/bp/pQA3anR0ZE/|title=大相撲の力士をやめたらどうなるの？|language=ja|date=29 March 2024|work=NHK|access-date=22 January 2025}}

• {{nihongo3|Chairman|理事長|Rijichō}}, primus inter pares among {{Transliteration|ja|riji}}
• {{nihongo3|Director|理事|Riji}}
• {{nihongo3|Deputy director|副理事|Fuku-riji}}
• {{nihongo3|Special executive|役員待遇委員|Yakuin taigū iin}}
• {{nihongo3|Committee member|委員|Iin}}
• {{nihongo3|Senior member|主任|Shunin}}
• {{nihongo3|Elder receiving sitting committee privileges|委員待遇年寄|Iin taigū toshiyori}}
• {{nihongo3|Elder|年寄|Toshiyori}}
• {{nihongo3|Consultant|参与|San'yo}}, elders re-hired as consultant between 65 and 70 years old

When retiring, {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} and {{Transliteration|ja|ōzeki}} who secured the possession of a share receive automatic promotion to the "Committee Member" rank and are granted the right to sit on committees within the association.{{cite web|url=https://hochi.news/articles/20240221-OHT1T51204.html?page=1|title=現役最長身２０４センチ・北青鵬、後輩力士に暴力で引退勧告へ「反省」宮城野親方２階級降格＆減俸も|language=ja|date=22 February 2024|work=Sports Hochi|access-date=19 January 2025}} Newly retired {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} who received sitting committee privileges are entitled to attend meetings of the board of directors but are not yet entitled to vote on the decisions taken there.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/photonews/photonews_nsInc_201802030000112-0.html|title=非協力的姿勢と実績の少なさ、貴乃花親方惨敗の要因|language=ja|date=3 February 2018|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=22 January 2025}}

The {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} who sit as {{Transliteration|ja|fuku-riji}} and {{Transliteration|ja|riji}} must first be elected by all the elders assembled in a board of trustees called {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|hyōgiin-kai}}|評議員会}}. Those who obtain the status of {{Transliteration|ja|fuku-riji}} must also be appointed by the board of directors. In the Sumo Association's internal organization, {{Transliteration|ja|fuku-riji}} serve as assistants to the department heads. {{Transliteration|ja|Yakuin taigu iin}} are named to their position by the chief director.

Directors, called {{Transliteration|ja|riji}},{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=4}} are elected by a single anonymous vote by all the elders in the board of trustees, from candidates selected among the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}. Since 1968, the number of directors on the board has been limited to ten elders,{{cite web|url=https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2008/02/09/kiji/K20080209Z00001480.html |title=もう許されない相撲協会"理事鎖国"|date=9 February 2008|work=Sports Nippon|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=96}} although it was also noted that the number of members of the board of directors could be extended to a maximum of fifteen persons if needed.

The board of directors elects a chairman, called {{Transliteration|ja|rijichō}},{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=10}} from among themselves. Directors other than the chairman serve as department heads. Among them, the role of {{nihongo|Operations director|事業部長|jigyō buchō}} is considered to be the association's number 2.{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202204050000715.html|title=なぜ陸奥親方が事業部長、九重親方が役員待遇?! 日本相撲協会の親方職務を読み解く|date=6 April 2022|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=20 August 2024|language=ja}}{{cite web |url=https://hochi.news/articles/20240327-OHT1T51134.html?page=1|title=春日野親方が協会ＮＯ２の事業部長に　新任理事の浅香山親方は九州場所担当部長…新職務分掌発表|date=27 March 2024|work=Sports Hochi|access-date=30 March 2024|language=ja}} Each board member serves a two-year term.

In 2014, the association introduced a system of re-employment for up to five years for elders who had reached the normal retirement age of 65. Under this system, an elder can remain a member of the Sumo Association while retaining his share, albeit limited to an advisory role as he is not authorized to be a stablemaster or hold a decision-making position within the association.{{cite web|url=https://www.sanspo.com/article/20230508-NUVY6DYDDJK7XGHNXHELQ6CQ34/|title=【甘口辛口】株の払底で入手や借りる算段がつかず… 相撲協会の将来を担う人材が再雇用の影響で残れないとしたら本末転倒ではないか|language=ja|date=6 May 2023|work=Sankei Sports|access-date=18 January 2025}} Furthermore, elders who benefit from this system are only re-employed at 70% of their initial salary.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLSSXK00178_W4A111C1000000/|title=相撲協会、定年親方の再雇用承認　今後4年で12人対象|language=ja|date=16 November 2014|work=The Nikkei|access-date=19 January 2025}} Since {{Transliteration|ja|san'yo}} are re-employed and can only have limited responsibilities, they occupy the lowest rank in the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} hierarchy within the Sumo Association.

Still in 2014, a counselor committee was introduced to facilitate dialogue between the ministry and the association. This committee, called {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|hyōgi-in}}|評議員}}, is made up equally of retired wrestlers (who were not re-employed under the {{Transliteration|ja|san'yo}} consultant system) elected within the association and personalities appointed by the ministry. Their rank equals that of a director to the association's board. Elders on the committee are not allowed to concurrently serve as {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} within the Sumo Association, because of the committee authority that allows them to have a say in the appointment and dismissal of directors.{{cite web |url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZZO58929340W3A820C1000000/|title=スポーツ探Q　せめぐ改革と伝統　相撲協会の公益法人案、私の見方|date=27 August 2013|work=The Nikkei|access-date=21 August 2024|language=ja}} Each counselor serves a term of four years. Having the task of "overseeing the execution of duties by the directors", auditors may attend meetings of the board of directors and the board of trustees, but have no voting rights. Former association-elected members who decide to return to the association after their term on the {{Transliteration|ja|hyōgi-in}} may do so after being auditioned by a reviewing committee.

In the world of professional sumo, where {{Transliteration|ja|banzuke}} (and therefore rank) plays a predominant role, a former wrestler who has become a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} is always referred to by his highest achieved rank.{{sfn|West|1997|p=173}} A wrestler is sometimes even considered a second-rate elder if he hasn't achieved a sufficiently high rank in his active career, and this consideration sometimes prevents him from occupying important positions in the association's organization after his retirement.{{sfn|West|1997|p=173}}{{sfn|Schilling|1994|p=32}}

The elders of the Association receive a salary that depends on their rank within the association.{{sfn|West|1997|pp=182-183}} The general monthly income of a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} (as of 2018) ranges from ¥1,032,000, for a hierarchical position equivalent to that of {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} –which is the lowest rank in the hierarchy– to ¥1,448,000, which corresponds to the income of a director's position.

Salaries (in yen) by rank in the Sumo Association are (as of 2018):{{cite web|url=https://www.sumo.or.jp/pdf/kyokai/zaimu/h2603yakuin.pdf|title=公益財団法人 日本相撲協会役員及び評議員の報酬並びに費用に関する規程|language=ja|work=Japan Sumo Association|access-date=18 January 2025|archive-date=16 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616225642/https://www.sumo.or.jp/pdf/kyokai/zaimu/h2603yakuin.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/photonews/photonews_nsInc_201803300000128-1.html|title=年寄降格の貴親方　月給64万減、過去に例ない処分|language=ja|date=30 March 2018|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=22 January 2025}}

In addition to their salaries, {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} are also eligible for a number of contextual bonuses:

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{{col-3}}

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{{col-end}}

Like active wrestlers {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} may be subject to disciplinary measures.{{cite web |url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20180329-B6U2IFMVMVLSJPWZ3QJEUQTR7E/|title=貴乃花親方は２階級降格で年寄に、「真摯に受け止める」|date=29 March 2018|work=Sankei Shimbun|access-date=19 January 2025|language=ja}}

The Japan Sumo Association punishments consists of seven levels (from lightest to heaviest punishment): reprimand, salary reduction, suspension, demotion, recommendation to retire and dismissal.{{cite web|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240222/k10014367091000.html|title=北青鵬 "暴力"で引退勧告 宮城野親方は降格の処分案まとめる|date=22 February 2024|work=NHK|access-date=12 June 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK2802P_Y0A620C1000000/|title=日本相撲協会の処分とは|date=28 June 2010|work=Nikkei Shimbun|access-date=12 June 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/201904240000892.html|title=日本相撲協会の処分は７項目 厳重注意は該当せず|date=24 April 2019|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=12 June 2024}}

It seems that in the event of a breach of their duty to supervise their wrestlers, and particularly in the context of media coverage of violence scandals, the penalty regularly imposed on a {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} is a reduction in salary and a two-rank demotion in the hierarchy.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/202402230000391.html|title=２階級降格と報酬減額処分の宮城野親方「弟子を守れず、深く反省」と謝罪　芝田山広報部長明かす|date=23 February 2024|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=28 January 2025}} In the event of serious misconduct, {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} may also lose their right to manage their stable.{{cite web|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASN7F5TGSN7FUTQP00Y.html|title=中川親方を降格、部屋閉鎖に　相撲協会、暴力や暴言認定|date=13 July 2020|work=The Asahi Shimbun|access-date=28 January 2025}}

The third most important punishment for a master, demotion was used for the first time on a former {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}} against former Wajima (then known as Hanakago) after he had put up his share in the Association as collateral on a loan.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/201803300000128.html|title=年寄降格の貴親方　月給64万減、過去に例ない処分|date=30 March 2018|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=28 January 2025}} Thirty-three years later, Takanohana was also demoted after the Takayoshitoshi scandal.{{cite web|url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20180329-B6U2IFMVMVLSJPWZ3QJEUQTR7E/|title=貴乃花親方は２階級降格で年寄に、「真摯に受け止める」|date=29 March 2018|work=Sankei Shimbun|access-date=28 January 2025}}

Association members who have secured ownership of a share are involved in the management of the association's various departments until their compulsory retirement at the age of 65.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}}

{{Main|Heya (sumo)}}

Only retired wrestlers can open stables.{{sfn|West|1997|p=176}} In sumo, where it's important to attract as many high-potential wrestlers as possible to the stable, the presence of elders who were once popular wrestlers is an important factor in the perpetuation of the sport.{{sfn|West|1997|p=178}} The elders who own stables are often the busiest, as they are responsible for maintaining their scouting network and training all the wrestlers who depend on them.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=113}} Although all elders are able to found or manage their own stables, only about half of them actually exercise this entitlement.

Gradually by rank, the wrestlers join in the training and the stablemaster only appears once the {{Transliteration|ja|sandanme}} wrestlers have joined.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=140}} It is often up to the {{Transliteration|ja|shishō}} to supervise his {{Transliteration|ja|heya}}'s training, although if he is absent, another {{Transliteration|ja|oyakata}} takes his place.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=111}} After their final retirement at the age of 65, many elders remain informally attached to their former stables, where they provide advice to active wrestlers in addition to the master who has inherited their share. Because of the deep respect for the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}'s status, even after their final retirement, it is common to see retired masters treated with a high degree of respect by all stable personnel. Although a {{Transliteration|ja|heya}}'s internal hierarchy stipulates that the {{Transliteration|ja|shishō}} is the highest authority in the stable, the {{Transliteration|ja|shishō}} is not necessarily paid more than the other {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} attached to the stable, as each elder has his own internal promotion within the Sumo Association, regardless of how the {{Transliteration|ja|heya}} operates. The {{Transliteration|ja|shishō}} will, however, receive bonuses from the Sumo Association, linked to the material organization of the stable in his charge.{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/battle/sumo/news/1787277.html|title=部屋持ちと部屋付き、条件どう違う？／相撲の親方|language=ja|date=4 March 2017|work=Nikkan Sports|access-date=26 January 2025}}

Elders are not distributed evenly between stables. This distribution creates quite wide discrepancies in the quality of training within the stables, with some, like Musashigawa stable having only the stablemaster for fourteen wrestlers, and others, like Kasugano stable, having seven masters for almost the same number of wrestlers.{{cite web|last=Gunning|first=John|author-link=John Gunning (journalist)|title=How a rethink of supervision at stables could curtail bullying in sumo|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2024/02/28/sumo/sumo-violence-prevention/|work=The Japan Times|url-access=subscription|date=28 February 2024|access-date=6 December 2024|archive-date=6 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206082848/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2024/02/28/sumo/sumo-violence-prevention/|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Japan Sumo Association}}

Management of the association is organized solely around the elders.{{sfn|West|1997|pp=174-175}} Officially, {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} are recognized as trustees in the association's statutes.{{sfn|Kakuma|1993|p=42}} This organization is a particularity of professional sumo, whereas in other sports, the management of organizing bodies is more often entrusted to sports foreigners, chosen by the owners from among lawyers or businessmen.{{sfn|West|1997|p=178}} The specificity of the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}'s monopoly on running the association lies in the fact that their learning of wrestling codes and their fraternal relationships enable the association to maximize group welfare.{{sfn|West|1997|p=178}} The reason why a permanent management system operated by outside personalities has not been implemented, despite the fact that the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}} (gathered in a board of trustees) technically possess the capacity to impose this change, is that the management of the association is above all based on the relationships of trust between these leaders. The latter having been built up during their wrestling careers, and for most of them since their teens, it became apparent that requiring the services of foreign personalities would involve training in the codes of the sport and in special relationships of trust, which would take too much time compared to self-management.{{sfn|West|1997|p=179}}

Elders are divided into a board of trustees overseeing the actions of a board of directors, itself made up exclusively of elders.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=143}} Elders who own stables are often expected to be the most involved in the Sumo Association's organization.{{sfn|Newton|Toff|2000|p=113}}

The Sumo Association is made up of several departments that oversee all the association's activities and are staffed by elders elected to these positions.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=143}}

It is also customary for all new elders, even former {{Transliteration|ja|yokozuna}}, to be assigned as security guards for the {{Transliteration|ja|hanamichi}} in their first tournament after retirement.{{cite web|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20211115/p2a/00m/0sp/019000c|title=Ex-yokozuna Hakuho begins new role, provides security at Kyushu sumo tournament|work=The Mainichi|publisher=15 November 2021|access-date=15 November 2021}} In the latter case, the young retirees are recognizable by their dark blue uniform jackets bearing the Sumo Association crest. Other tasks entrusted to committee members include manning the ticket booths at the entrance to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan.

Depending on their distribution, elders are also responsible for sweeping or distributing by-products. The elders distributed within the Public Relations Department are also responsible for hosting the {{Transliteration|ja|toshiyori}}'s own YouTube channel {{nihongo||親方ちゃんねるな|Oyakata-chan}}.{{cite web |url=https://osumo3.com/2024/05/04/%E6%95%99%E3%81%88%E3%81%A6%EF%BC%81%E4%B8%89%E4%BF%9D%E3%83%B6%E9%96%A2%E8%A6%AA%E6%96%B9%EF%BC%81-%E3%80%8C%E7%A4%BE%E4%BC%9A%E8%B2%A2%E7%8C%AE%E9%83%A8%E3%80%8D%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E4%BD%95%E3%82%92/ |title=教えて！三保ケ関親方！ 「社会貢献部」って何をするところですか？|language=ja |date=4 May 2024 |work=Osumo3 Web Magazine |access-date=28 January 2025}}

{{Main|Judge (sumo)}}

File:Debating a close call 2008 (2946130943).jpg during matches; seen here debating a call by the {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}}.]]

The elders' judging function developed around 1750, with the emergence of interests linked to the prestige of local lords. The latter, by sponsoring wrestlers, increasingly questioned the refereeing of matches involving their wrestlers, to the detriment of the {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}}'s decisions. To avoid tensions, elders were placed in the corners of the ring to discuss the results of matches.{{sfn|Cuyler|1979|p=75}}

Like any other senior manager in the Sumo Association, the elders responsible for judging matches have a two-year term.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=98}} The number of judges is set at twenty, and places are distributed equitably among the various {{Transliteration|ja|ichimon}}, or clans, of stables within the association.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=98}} Among the five judges seated around the ring, one serves as group leader and another as timekeeper. The latter is responsible for keeping the pre-bout rituals on schedule, discreetly announcing to the {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}} (referee) that the time is up.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=98}} In the event of a disputed result, it is the {{Transliteration|ja|shimpan}} who can challenge the {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}}'s decision by calling in a {{nihongo|mono-ii|物言い||{{literal translation|talk about things}}}}. When doing so, they correspond through an earpiece to a further two judges in a video review room.{{sfn|Hall|1997|p=75}} Judges can confirm the decision of the {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}} by announcing {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|gunbai-dōri}}|軍配通り||{{literal translation|way of the {{Transliteration|ja|gunbai}}}}}}, overturn it by announcing {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|gunbai-sashichigae}}|軍配差し違え||{{literal translation|{{Transliteration|ja|gunbai}} mistake}}}}, or order a {{nihongo|{{Transliteration|ja|torinaoshi}}|取り直し||rematch}}.{{sfn|Buckingham|1994|p=72}}

{{Portal|Japan|Martial arts}}

{{colbegin}}

• Glossary of sumo terms
• Japan Sumo Association
• Sumo stable
• List of sumo elders
• List of past sumo wrestlers
• List of sumo stables
• Coach (sport)
• Japanese honorifics
• Senpai and kōhai
• {{Transliteration|ja|Sensei}}

{{Div col end}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Buckingham |first=Dorothea M. |date=1994 |title=The Essential Guide to Sumo |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialguideto00doro/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=Bess Press |isbn=1880188805}}
• {{cite book|last=Cuyler |first=Patricia Lee |date=1979 |title=Sumo: From rite to sport |url=https://archive.org/details/sumofromritetosp0000cuyl/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |isbn=9780834801455}}
• {{cite book |last=Hall |first=Mina |title=The Big Book of Sumo: History, Practice, Ritual, Fight |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-880656-28-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bigbookofsumohis00hall}}
• {{cite book|last=Kakuma |first=Tsutomu |date=1993 |title=Sumo watching |url=https://archive.org/details/sumowatching0000kaku/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=Yohan Publications |isbn=4896842367}}
• {{cite book |last=Kenrick |first=Douglas M. |year=1969 |title=The Book of Sumo: Sport, Spectacle, and Ritual |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofsumosports0000kenr/mode/2up |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |url-access=registration |isbn=083480039X}}
• {{cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Clyde |last2=Toff |first2=Gerald J. |year=2000 |title=Dynamic sumo |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9784770025081/page/135/mode/2up |publisher=Kodansha International |url-access=registration |isbn=4770025084}}
• {{cite book|last=Schilling |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Schilling |date=1994 |title=Sumo: a fan's guide |url=https://archive.org/details/sumofansguide0000schi/mode/2up |url-access=registration |publisher=Japan Times |isbn=4789007251}}
• {{cite book|last=Sharnoff |first=Lora |date=1993 |title=Grand Sumo:The Living Sport and Tradition |publisher=New York: Weatherhill |isbn=0-8348-0283-X}}
• {{cite journal | last=West | first=Mark D. | author-link=Mark D. West |title=Legal Rules and Social Norms in Japan's Secret World of Sumo | journal=The Journal of Legal Studies | publisher=The University of Chicago Press | year=1997 | volume=26 | issue=1 | pages=165–201 | doi=10.1086/467992 | jstor=10.1086/467992 | url-access=registration | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/467992 }}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.sumo.or.jp/EnSumoDataKyokaiMember/oyakata Complete list of toshiyori at the Japan Sumo Association]
• [http://sumodb.sumogames.de/Kabu.aspx Kabu history]
• [http://oyakata.seisa.de/ Oyakata Gallery]
• [https://sumo.or.jp/IrohaKyokaiInformation/detail?id=289 Japan Sumo Association disciplinary rules]
• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrWfOS5omb6eSDJbpY8aMYQ The oyakata channel] on YouTube

Toshiyori

Category:Sumo terminology

Category:Titles and rank in Japanese martial arts

Category:Titles

Category:Management occupations

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Category:Nonprofit chief executives

Category:Education and training occupations